- Surgical Treatment
- Non-Surgical Treatment
- Dental Implant Procedures
- Cosmetic Procedures
Dental Crown Lengthening
Some individuals may have a “gummy” smile because the teeth appear short. In fact, the teeth may actually be the proper lengths, but they’re covered with too much gum tissue. To correct this, your periodontist performs a dental crown lengthening procedure.
During the dental crown lengthening procedure, excess gum and bone tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth. This can be done to one tooth, to even your gum line, or to several teeth to expose a natural, broad smile.
Your dentist or periodontist may also recommend dental crown lengthening to make a restorative or cosmetic dental procedure possible. Crown lengthening adjusts the gum and bone level to expose more of the tooth so it can be restored.
Periodontal Pocket Procedures
Your bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth like a turtleneck around your neck. When you have periodontal disease, this supporting tissue and bone is destroyed, forming “pockets” around the teeth.
Over time, these pockets become deeper, providing a larger space for bacteria to live accumulate and advance under the gum tissue. These pockets can result in bone and tissue loss. Eventually, if too much bone is lost, the teeth will need to be extracted.
During a periodontal pocket procedure, your periodontist folds back the gum tissue and removes the disease-causing bacteria before securing the tissue into place. In some cases, irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to limit areas where disease-causing bacteria can hide. This allows the gum tissue to better reattach to healthy bone.